Former Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton to lead Zcash miner Fortitude ahead of Nasdaq debut

Leverton most recently led institutional digital-asset manager ReserveOne. She previously served as CEO of bitcoin miner Hut 8, overseeing its merger with US Bitcoin Corp. and its transition from a Canadian-listed miner into a U.S.-domiciled company with bitcoin mining and high-performance computing operations.

Her appointment comes as Fortitude expands its exposure to Zcash, whose ZEC token has risen more than 2,000% over the past year. Its market capitalization is roughly $21 billion.

Fortitude mined 72,696 ZEC during the six months through June, about 28% of the network’s total production during that period. The company reported second-quarter revenue of $20.9 million.

The miner operates more than 60 megawatts of power capacity across seven sites in South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas and New York.

“Fortitude is taking a differentiated approach to mining,” Leverton said in the release, pointing to the company’s combination of owned power, mining sites and in-house operations.

The company describes itself as a “venture mining” platform that allocates capital across proof-of-work networks while maintaining a primary focus on Zcash. The company is wholly owned by Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group.

Childs said she will concentrate on mining operations, fleet and infrastructure strategy, and industry relationships in her new role as COO.